Each year around the All Saints Sunday weekend the Good Shepherd Institute hosts their annual conference which features fellowship, recitals, a hymn festival, and a number of presentations for pastors and musicians.  The conference that is presently underway is entitled “Sing With All the Saints in Glory.”  In March 2010, Dr. Just remarked in their newsletter how the staff determined the conference theme.

After last year’s well-received and well-attended conference on Johann Sebastian Bach, we wondered how we could sustain this momentum. In a meeting with Kantors Resch and Hildebrand and Dean Grime about how we can top Bach, someone blurted out: “Let’s do death. We’ve never done death. Let’s do death.” I looked over at the Kantors, and I could see the musical wheels spinning with requiems, hymns, and all sorts of other possibilities. What is more vital for pastors, musicians, and deaconesses than how we proclaim to the saints what we believe about death? We all agreed that there was no more perfect topic to follow Bach than how we celebrate life in the midst of death, especially at a Good Shepherd Institute conference held during All Saints weekend. Yes, we all agreed, it is time for us to “do death.”

While I haven’t attended one of the conferences, my thoughts and prayers are with them as I see what they’re doing a few time zones away.  A highlight for me, while not a substitute for being there, is the eventual publication of their annual journal that features the presentations from the conference.  These journals provide some good reading (and lifelong re-reading) material.  My personal favorite is Volume 2 – Christ’s Gift’s in Liturgy.  Normally the journals are about $20.00 apiece, but since Volume 2 is out of print, they have kindly made it available for download (no charge) as a PDF.  If you are a church musician with a love for sacred music, hymnody, worship, and theology, you definitely will want this.  While you’re at it, take a look at their semi-annual newsletter with some great recommendations on articles/books, sheet music (organ and choir), and recordings.  Yes, your pocketbook will be a little lighter, but you will have some worthwhile additions to your library.  Kantor Hildebrand’s recommendation of Partita on Lord, Thee I Love With All My Heart by J. Wayne Kerr, was a great addition to both of my All Saints Sunday services.

If you’re not familiar with the resources for church musicians from Concordia Theological Seminary, do check them out.  They have been a blessing to me.  Perhaps they will be for you as well.

Thanks for reading Church Musicians & Concordia Theological Seminary.

HIS VOICE

The Good Shepherd Institute has recently published the bi-annual edition of their newsletter “His Voice” that focus on resources for pastoral theology and sacred music.  In it you’ll find information on the next GSI conference (and the creative way they came up with the topic), book/article recommendations from John Pless, choral recommendations from Kantor Kevin Hildebrand, and music/article recommendations from Daniel Zager.

For those of you who enjoy the writings of Bo Giertz (e.g., Hammer of God and To Live With Christ), John Pless recommends The Knights of Rhodes, a novel by Giertz recently translated into English by Bror Erickson.  If you are interested in it, just a hint — buy directly from the publisher (Wipf and Stock) and the price is $21.60 + shipping rather than $27.00 + shipping.

GATHERED GUESTS

CPH is having a 60% off sale on selected items and Gathered Guests (2nd Edition) by Timothy Maschke is on sale for $10.00 (normally $24.99).  The subtitle to the book is “A Guide to Worship in the Lutheran Church.”  It is a revision of the 1st Edition to reflect updated practices and reference the services in Lutheran Service Book.  At 600 pages, the book provides an overview of Lutheran worship and the church year, the liturgy and the services in LSB, the arts — vestments, music, and architecture, and planning resources.

The commentary on the LSB services (Divine Services, Daily Office, and the Occasional Services) are especially useful for the pastor and musician in worship planning.  One resource that I have found particularly helpful is Appendix B – Seasonal Suggestions for the Divine Service.  It is an expansion of a table in the Manual on the Liturgy for LBW (which is also a useful resource for service planning and the “how” of the service).  For each season of the church year there are suggestions of when and/or what “options” to use in the service like the Kyrie, Hymn of Praise, and Post-Communion Canticle and Collect.  This appendix provides an intentional usage of the options throughout the settings of the Divine Service.

Enjoy the exploration.  If you happen to come across any worship and/or music related resources that you find useful or would recommend, feel free to leave a comment.

Thanks for reading March Resources.

“What Would Bach Do Today?” by Paul Grime

Dr. Grime (Dean of the Chapel at Concordia Theological Seminary) has a clever alternate title for his paper: WWJD: What Would Johann Do? It is a provocative question to consider and Dr. Grime explores the possibilities for today’s church musicians.  If I had to summarize it one sentence, it would be: Don’t operate with your blinders on.  Bach worked within and had an understanding of both the church and culture and sacred and secular.  While we now experience different circumstances from Bach, Grime doesn’t impose artificial limitations on the musician, but encourages exploration and freedom.

But it will only be through trial and error that we will be able to press on to that next fresh expression of the grace of God, using His incredible gift of music to awaken faith in our generation and the next. Bach would expect nothing less!

“The Global Importance of Bach Today” by Uwe Siemon-Netto

Given Uwe Siemon-Netto’s background as a reporter, it is not surprising that his paper reads like a feature article – an engaging article.  He shows how Bach’s music transcends cultures and social classes and “speaks” to all sorts of people.  Even Bach’s instrumental music, he contends, can bring people to Christianity.  But he also laments the apathy of the theological/musical heirs of Bach toward this musical tradition (specifically in reference to the sale of a certain radio station owned by a certain church body in a certain mid-western city).  Another enlightening reading opportunity.

Thanks for reading Bach in Today’s Parish: Still the Evangelist.

Of particular note are 3 pages devoted to the published resources of GSI, most of which are part of my own library.  These resources have been formative and valuable in my growth and continuing education as a parish musician.  I return again and again to the timeless essays of Walter Buszin.  The journals provide opportunities for personal study in worship, hymnody, and liturgy.  The Singing the Faith DVD is the closest thing you’ll get to a confessional Lutheran music video.  My favorite video selections are Lord, Let at Last Thine Angels Come with the mural and Wide Open Stand the Gates from a hymn festival.

It has been a blessing to be part of the continuing “conversation”, if only through the words of the essays, journals, and DVD.  So, I say thank you to Kantor Resch and Dr. Just for their vision and making these resources available for the church at large, and in particular pastors and parish musicians.

Thanks for reading Good Shepherd Institute.

And he is direct. Rule #11 of Elementary Rules of Liturgical Usage – “Churches are not carpeted.”

Dr. Arthur Just presented a paper at the 2008 Good Shepherd Institute – Confident Liturgy: Presiding with Hospitality and Grace that referenced Kavanagh’s “An Approach to Liturgical Style”. While Kavanagh comes from the Roman Catholic tradition and is looking at the role of the presider in the liturgy, I think portions of his list can serve equally well for church musicians.

1. Place yourself in the background.
2. Do things naturally.
3. Know the assembly’s liturgical tradition thoroughly.
4. Do the liturgy with directness and vigor.
5. Beware of particularizing the liturgy.
6. Beware of liturgical fundamentalism.
7. Do not over-ceremonialize.
8. Do not affect a loose informality.
9. Do not explain too much.
10. Strive for simplicity.
11. Do not get too relevant.
12. Learn to live with symbol.
13. Adapt culture to the liturgy rather than liturgy to culture.

For example, church musicians (and architects!) should take item #1 into account. How does the placement of the musicians serve (or distract) from the proclamation of the Word? Does a particular location put more emphasis on the musician rather than the message?

Or take item #3: I would expect a Lutheran musician to make different musical choices than a Baptist or Pentecostal musician. An introit, gradual, or psalm chanting/singing/saying might be foreign to a Baptist (and some Lutherans), but they offer an important insight and reflection on other parts of the Divine Service.

I don’t want to give the impression that this list is a LAW, but I do offer it as an opportunity to reflect on how we provide musical leadership in the worship service. Our actions and choices do make a difference.

Thanks for reading Elements of Liturgical Style.

The following selection has resonated with me over the weekend.   Buszin reminds us that the musical aptitude is not as important as the musical and theological attitudes of the church musician.

The work of communicating the Gospel should emanate, therefore, not only from the pulpit, the cathedral, and the classroom, but also from the organ and the choir loft.  All unite to serve and disseminate the Word.  The task of the organist, choirmaster, and cantor has in many respects the same purpose as that of the preacher, the missionary, the teacher of religion, and the professor of theology.  Even for this reason great care should be exercised by congregations in selecting and appointing their choirmasters and organists.  It is more important that the church musician have the mind of the church, possess the necessary liturgical knowledge, and give unquestioned evidence of a salutary approach to the problems of Christian (Lutheran) worship than that he be an organist and/or choirmaster of superior ability. (Theology and Church Music as Bearers and Interpreters of the Verbum Dei – Walter Buszin)

Thanks for reading Buszin on Church Musicians.

In a short article I recently acquired, Kevin Hildebrand reflects on the import of these familiar words.

We are by nature sinful and unclean. Therefore we ask with the psalmist, “O Lord, open my lips,” as we cannot open our own dead, sinful lips. Only with lips that have been touched with the words of absolution, drenched with the waters of Holy Baptism, and quenched with the Blood of the chalice can we then say with confidence, “and my mouth will declare your praise.”

** An excerpt from “The Organ Also Sings: Some Brief Thoughts to Introduce an Organ Reading Session” in the 2004 journal of the Good Shepherd Institute – Singing and Preaching the Close of the Year: “Zion Hears the Watchmen Singing)

Our praise is a result of the great gifts God gives us through His word and sacraments. Thanks be to God!

Thanks for reading O Lord, Open My Lips.

I received my copy of the DVD this past weekend and am working my way through the videos and the study guide. Eventually I might write a review on Singing the Faith. If you’d like more information, surf on over to the Good Shepherd Institute website and view the introductory video – it’s only about 12 minutes +/-.

Thanks for reading Lutheran Hymnody Makes the Evening News.

I’ve been waiting for some to write this blog post, but was waiting for the new semi-annual installment of His Voice to be published by the Good Shepherd Institute at Concordia Theological Seminary. I knew it had to be coming in either March or April and it was posted on the GSI website today. Definitely visit their website and download the latest version (in PDF). For that matter, why not download all five issues (current and the last two years)?

His Voice is a wonderful resource for those interested in the current events of the Good Shepherd Institute and provides:

• Recommended Pastoral Resouces – Reviews by John Pless
• Recommended Choral and Organ Music – Reviews by Kevin Hildebrand
• Recommended Reading and Listening Resources – Reviews by Daniel Zager

I have a great amount of respect for the GSI and take their recommendations seriously. My personal library is a reflection of this.

Highlights from the April 2008 edition include the topic of the 2008 Annual Conference, notification of the release of the “Singing the Faith: Living the Lutheran Music Heritage” DVD, and comprehensive music suggestions for Pentecost and Trinity 2008 by Kevin Hildebrand.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Good Shepherd Institute of Pastoral Theology and Sacred Music for the Church, it is “dedicated to hearing and discerning the clear voice of Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, through preaching, historic liturgies, substantive catechesis, and hymns that communicate faith in Christ in the church’s trinitarian teaching and worship.” You can learn more about their mission and vision by going here.

They have a number of resources available including published journals from their annual conferences and a book on the life of Walter Buszin.

The Good Shepherd Institute is a blessing to the church. Thank You!

Thanks for reading His Voice – Newsletter of Good Shepherd Institute.

Over the last two weeks I have been reading “Music for the Church: The Life and Work of Walter E. Buszin” by Kirby L. Koriath with 10 essays by Walter E. Buszin. As a brief summary, Buszin (1899-1973) was a Lutheran theologian, church musician, music editor, hymnologist, teacher, and liturgical scholar whose scholarly output is quite amazing. In some respects his work was more widely known outside of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS) despite being a professor at Concordia Seminary, music editor at Concordia Publishing House, and being on the Synod’s Commission on Worship, Liturgics, and Hymnology for 26 years.

This book presents today’s generation of pastors and church musicians with wise counsel on church music and liturgy. Buszin’s life shows a “mission of restoration and renewal in Lutheran church music and worship” (pg 27). He was deeply concerned that his church, the Lutheran church, had abandoned its fine heritage and replaced it with an unworthy and substandard successor. His life and words are still timely because he dealt with many of the same issues we encounter today – quality of hymnody, liturgy, choral and instrumental music.

As I read the book, I realized how I, as a church musician, have been shaped by Buszin without really knowing it. Buszin promoted the use of the chorale in hymnody, choral music, and organ music and seemed to be instrumental in bringing the sacred works of the “Golden Age of Lutheran Music” (16th – 18th centuries) to light. Besides relying extensively on this era of music for my weekly service playing, I have been shaped by my favorite modern Lutheran composers who write music on the chorales — Benjamin Culli, Kevin Hildebrand, Jeffrey Blersch, Kenneth Kosche, John Behnke, Michael Burkhardt, and Paul Manz. And finally, the Organist Workshops and Good Shepherd Institute at Concordia Theological Seminary introduced me to the thoughts of Buszin and helped me better understand and live my vocation as a church musician.

I hope that I might reflect, if only a glimmer, the passion that Buszin had for Lutheran church music and worship.

Thanks for reading Walter E. Buszin – Wise Counsel for Today.